China congratulates President-elect Joe Biden on his victory.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in the Roosevelt room at the White House in 2012. Image Credit: Voanews.com
After more than a week since Joe Biden won the US 2020 election, China congratulated US President- elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their victory, ending the speculation on whether China will congratulate the new President-elect and Vice-President-elect of the United States.
On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said to a news briefing,
We have been following the reaction on this US presidential election from both within the United States and from the international community. We respect the American people’s choice and extend congratulations to Mr Biden and Ms Harris.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin
Mr. Wang also said that,
The result of the US election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin
China was one of the few countries that did not congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on his victory, until today. The other countries are Russia, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico. The leaders of these countries said that they will wait until all votes are confirmed by the US Electoral College next month. On Monday, the Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said,
We believe it’s correct to wait for the official results of the elections to be announced.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov
According to Bill Bishop, a publisher of a newsletter, Sinocism, China’s reluctance to congratulate China may be due to the volatile relations that currently exist between China and the United States. China does not want to infuriate President Donald Trump, who so far, have not conceded his defeat. Trump has so far refused to aid in the handover of power to Joe Biden, and has so far refused Mr. Biden from using the State Department to access messages from foreign leaders. Under normal circumstances, the President allows all communications for the President-elect. Regardless of this, President-elect Joe Biden’s team managed to get in touch with some foreign governments without State Department resources.
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to work with traditional allies to try to manage China relations, but time will tell on how he will act on issues like the South China Sea, where China is constantly reinforcing their area as theirs by building military bases, and recently by passing a draft law that allows the coast guard to fire if a foreign navy vessel does not comply with Chinese Maritime law. Read more about the draft law here:
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